Wheeled clodbreaker



Nov. 18, 1952 MALONE 2,618,439

WHEELED CLODBREAKER I Filed Oct. 25, 1948 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 Inventor- Alva Malon e B) WW 3M Nov. 18, 1952 MALONE 2,618,439

WHEEL-ED CLODBREAKER Filed Oct. 25, 1948 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Inventor A/Va Malone Patented Nov. 18, 1952 UNITED WHEELED CLODBREAKER Alva Malone, Fresno, Calif., assignor of fifty per cent to R. A. Morris, Fresno, Calif.

Application October 25, 1948, Serial No. 56,405

1 Claim.

This invention relates to novel and useful improvements in devices for applying surface conditioning material to roads and the like, after breaking the clods.

An object of this invention is to convey larger particles and portions of surface conditioner material to a pair of rotating corrugated rollers which are juxtaposed relative to each other, the smaller or finer particles being sifted through an endless conveyor, and then depositing the broken clods to the surface to be treated, after the clods have been ground through the corrugated rollers.

Another object of this invention is to apply a force on one of the rollers which is slidably mounted on a wheeled chassis to urge the same toward the other roller which is stationary with relation to lateral movement, the force being urged in one of several ways, one being by means of spring pressure and the other being by means of fluid pressure.

Another object of this invention is to support on a chassis a pair of corrugated rollers in sideby-side relation, angularly incline an endless conveyor thereadjacent, actuate both the rollers and the endless conveyor in order to convey the relatively larger particles and portions of surface conditioner to the leading roller, whereupon it is carried between the pair of rollers, crushed and then deposited on the roadway or street which is being conditioned.

Ancillary objects and features of novelty such as simplicity of structure will become apparent to those skilled in the art, in fOllOWlllg the description of the preferred form of the invention, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, where- Figure 1 is an elevational side view of the preferred form of the invention;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the invention shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a plan view of the device shown in Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary view of a portion of the device shown in Figure 1, portions being omitted to illustrate internal structure;

Figure 5 is a sectional detail of construction, taken substantially on the line 55 of Figure 4 and in the direction of the arrows, illustrative of the guides wherein one of the rollers is mounted;

Figure 6 is a fragmentary view illustrating a second preferred form of the invention; and

Figure 7 is a fragmentary view illustrating a third prefer ed m o t e in ent on the modifications differing in means for urging one of the roller mounting devices with relation to the other roller.

Certain roads known as oil roads are composed of a mixture of oil, sand, and earth. Vehicular traflic on the surface of such a road forms the oil road, smoothing it to a final finished product somewhat similar to a macadam road.

However, over a period of time, holes appear in the surface of such a road, and also it becomes rough, assuming a washboard effect. When this happens, it is necessary to break up the oilcompacted matter and break the clods into finer particles and then add more oil and smooth the oil mixture (oil, sand, and earth) on the road-bed. Then, by the use of more vehicular trafific, a new road surface is formed.

To renew the road surface, the original breaking up of the surface of the road is done by tractors, pulling chisels or'other devices designed to break up the road surface. Once the surface of the road is broken up the clods are placed in a windrow by the use of an angle blade on a road grader. This is the usual manner of proceeding with this step.

The utility of the present invention is, at this point: The device is pulled by a tractor, truck, or the like, over this windrow of clods which formerly composed the road surface. The forward motion given to the device by the tractor, truck, etc. pulling the same is sufilcient to force the clods on the conveyor and onto the roller, thus fracturing and breaking the clods into smaller clods and smaller particles. The volume of the clods going onto the conveyor is controlled by the speed of the tractor or truck which is pulling the device. If satisfactory results are not ob tained by one operation of the device on a windrow, it is proposed to utilize the device several times to reduce the clods to the proper size.

The method now employed in fracturing clods is by the use of road graders and heavy tractors of the character or type which run up and down the road many times before the fracturin process is completed. The present device is proposed to supersede this process, which is obviously inefficient. The utility of a heavy vehicle relies entirely on the actual weight of the vehicle for breaking up the particles and clods. The utility of the present device applies the necessary power not to actuate a very heavy vehicle, but to the conversion of useful work in breaking up the clods and other particles.

A chassis, generally indicated at N, is supplied with a pair of Wheels I2 and Hi. respective- 1y, mounted at one end thereof and a drawbar 16 at the opposite end thereof, adapted to be secured to any suitable prime mover.

The forward end of the chassis is downwardly inclined and has a pair of plates 20 forming a portion thereof and serving the purpose of mounting the shaft 22 for rotation. This shaft carries the gears 24, forming a portion of the generally indicated slatted endless conveyor 26. The opposite end of the endless conveyor is entrained around a pair of gears 28 which are mounted on a suitable shaft 30 which also are journaled in suitable bearings on the chassis.

As is seen in Figure 3, the shaft 30 extends outwardly of the chassis in order to accommodate a gear 32 which has a chain 34 entrained therearound. The said chain 34 extends around another gear seen at 35 which is integral with the shaft 38. The said shaft 38 carries a roller 40 which has a corrugated outer surface 4-2. Of course, suitable bearings are utilized for the purpose of journa'ling the shaft 38, one of which is seen at 44 in Figure 1. Each of the bearings 44 is mounted on a plate 45. rigidly secured to the chassis H) as by a fastener 4! which engages the upper edge of the. plate.

A pair of support brackets or'plates 50 are mounted adjacent the rear wheels 12 and [4 of the chassis, supporting a pair of shafts 52 and 54, respectively. The said shaft 52 has a sprocket 56 at one end thereof with the chain 46 entrained therearound. It is now seen that movement is imparted from the shaft 52 to the roller 40, thence to the conveyor.

Adjacent the other end of the shaft 52 is a conventional gear 58 which is enmeshed with another similar gear 60 attached to the shaft 54. The shaft 54 has a sprocket 62 attached to it to accommodate the drive chain 66.

Rotative movement is imparted to a second roller 68 which is' substantially identical to the roller 40, including the corrugated oute surface 70. This last-mentioned roller 68 derives its power from the shaft 54, through the utility of a sprocket 1'2 and chain 14, which chain also extends around a gear 16. It is now seen: that both of the rollers and the endless conveyor are actuated simultaneously.

Referring to Figure 5, .it is seen that an upper rail 18 and a lower rail'88 is attached to the chassis with tongues 82 extending therefrom. These tongues are fitted in suitable grooves (unnumbered) carrying the pillow blocks 84, one of which is supplied on each side of the chassis.

Means for adjusting the roller 68 in a lateral manner with relation to the rolle 40 is provided. The various speciesfof the invention disclosed herein differin the details of the specific means utilized. In Figure 4, it will. be seen that a cylinder-piston structure 86 pivoted at both ends is utilized, reacting on the pillow blocks 84 and thechassis. The roller 68 isprovided with a supporting shaft 85 which is supported for rotation by the pillow blocks 44 and passes through elongated slots 81 in the side plate 89 of the chassis I0 whereby longitudinal movement thereof is permitted.

In Figure 6, a second pressure-responsive device is utilized, in the form of a spring 88, also reacting on the pillow blocks and th chassis.

In Figure 7, a final form of pressure-responsive urging device is utilized in the form of a tension spring 90 extending between the pillow blocks 84 and the. pillow block for the roller 40.

It is apparent that variations may be made without departin from the spirit of the invention.

Having described the claimed as new is:

A road repair machine for fracturing clods and distributing same, said road repair machine including a wheeled frame, corrugated rollers supported by said frame between side rails thereof, said corrugated rollers being in parallel relation and normally lying adjacent each other with the path of. one roller being closely spaced from the path of the other roller, one of said rollers mounted on a first transverse shaft extendingbetween said side rails of said frame for rotation only, the other of said rollers being mounted on a second transverse shaft for rotation therewith, said second shaft being mounted for longitudinal sliding movement, a'hydraulic motor carried by said frame and operatively connected to said second shaft for permitting limited longitudinal movement of said other roller and cushioning shocks transmitted thereto by the passage of large unbreakable clods, drive means carried by said side rails connected to said first and second shafts for rotating same.

invention, what is ALVA MALONE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

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